FY22 PSN Northern District of Georgia

The Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (CJCC) is pleased to submit this application on behalf of the Northern District of Georgia’s U.S. Attorney’s Office (USAO) for FY2022 Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN). CJCC is requesting funds to support local law enforcement and other agencies, including non-governmental organizations, that target chronic repeat offenders in the Northern District of Georgia. From October 1, 2022 to September 30, 2025, this project proposes to create and foster safer neighborhoods by addressing gang and repeated violent offender issues to keep the Northern District of Georgia safe. A steering committee will provide overall guidance and direction to the PSN Task Force.

The USAO is implementing a comprehensive prevention strategy to complement the coordinated enforcement efforts throughout the entire District and violent repeat offender (VRO) sites, including debriefing of juveniles to identify adults who are driving their violent criminal activity. The Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) will continue to implement a Credible Messenger initiative to intervene with high-risk juveniles who will be released back into northern district communities. The Credible Messenger Model is an evidence-based prevention strategy that has rendered significant reductions in shootings and killings, re-arrests, and attitudes supporting violence. The Georgia Department of Corrections (GDC), Georgia Department of Community Supervision (DCS), Federal Bureau of Prisons, and U.S. Probation Office will intervene with high-risk adult offenders who are in state or federal custody.

The USAO will use a portion of grant funds, 30 percent, to support gang prevention and intervention efforts throughout the Northern District. The USAO is requesting funding to support EGRESS Consultants and Services, LLC on the continued development and implementation of a PSN Gang Intervention Specialist. The specialist is responsible for providing gang prevention and intervention education and services to youth and adults in coordination with the referral source, to include the USAO, NDGA, GDC,DJJ, and DCS, as well as local law enforcement.

The District will also seek a research partner who will work with the USAO to develop a comprehensive, multi-year research agenda that reflects the USAO’s current strategic plan and will translate that plan into a research agenda.The research partner will be expected to build implementation guides and protocols by designing a systematic approach to identifying places at risk of repeat violence. This will include providing information on problem-oriented policing approaches to identify the causes of violence in target locations and to address the individuals responsible.